Make room for a new device

Photo 1: The easy but less elegant way

Remove the old switch (power off) and
screw the extender box on top of the old
box. Then install the new switch and cover
plate on the extension box.

Photo 2: The harder but more attractive option

Disconnect the old switch and label all the wires
(power off). Saw out the old box, remove the wires
and set in a deep remodeling box. Reconnect the wires
and install the new switch.

Although your current electrical “box
fill” may meet code,
it’s not safe to jam a new
device in if the box is already full of wires. You have two
options: Add a plastic
surface-mount extender
box (like Leviton No.
6197-W; available through our affiliation with amazon.com; Photo 1), or remove
the old 12.5-cu.-in. box
and replace it with a flush-mount
20-cu.-in. box that’s
7/8 in. deeper (Photo 2).